Posted on 07/17/2017 2:01:31 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
(Newser) – The last message sent by 14-year-old Madison Coe before she was electrocuted in the bathtub shows the tragic mistake that killed her. "When you use and (sic) extension cord so you can plug your phone in while you're in the bath," the teen from Lovington, NM, wrote to a friend, sending a picture of the cord connection on top of a towel. But despite the precautions, Madison was apparently unaware that there was fraying on part of the cord, NBC 12 reports. Officials say she was killed after touching a frayed section while she was in the water. Investigators believe her phone was never immersed in the water.
According the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Lovington Police Department, the cord had been plugged into a non-grounded outlet with no circuit-interrupting safety mechanism, the New York Daily News reports. Family members released her final message to help raise awareness of the danger. Her father, firefighter and EMT Logan Coe, tells Inside Edition that Madison often took her phone into the bathroom to listen to music while she was in the tub. "Whenever I talked to Madison about it, she said, 'Dad, it's outside the tub,'" he says. A GoFundMe campaign to help the family has now raised more than $20,000.
This is a most bizarre twist to what she was texting.
Distracted bathing.... wonder who the parents will sue.
This will probably result in a new law requiring extension cord manufacturers to put a warning label not to use with cell phone chargers hooked to a cell phone while the user is bathing or showering.
I thought the family was much more well grounded and find their release of this photo to be shocking.
I hate this story.
No electronics in the bath. Period.
Electrocution has got to hurt like nothing else. Such a pretty young lady not understanding the danger. My brother was severely shocked in the 60’s from his train set xfrmr.
Please teach the young about electricity and how we harness that. It is very dangerous. I am curious about the GFI in place but it doesn’t matter for this young girl now.
I’ve used my cellphone while sitting in tub but I never had it plugged up to a charger....if it was low battery then oh well it was low battery.
“Distracted bathing.... wonder who the parents will sue.”
The company who made the phone.
I’m sure the wrongful death lawyers will be amped up about this case.
Well it’s very sad that she died.
There’s something else which is troubling about this. And that is, are some people so wedded to a cellular phone that they can’t ever be without it? They can’t be apart from.it for 15 minutes to take a shower?
Well it’s very sad that she died.
There’s something else which is troubling about this. And that is, are some people so wedded to a cellular phone that they can’t ever be without it? They can’t be apart from.it for 15 minutes to take a shower?
Is that the first thought you had or the last thought you had.
Around me I would guess the last one.
Not thinking has consequences.
I think there is a saying about people who are destined to be an example to others.
Imagine, a 14-year-old girl lying to her parents.
What I don’t like is how all the initial stories insinuated that the girl was electrocuted by the cellphone.
You are just trying to get a charge out of us with your posts.
His daughter's death could have been prevented by a $15 piece of equipment he could have bought at any hardware store.
Wow, so the daughter of a firefighter was electrocuted by a frayed cord?
Wonder if it was the charger cord or extension cord (in case there IS a lawsuit).
Very sad.
We already have the National Electrical Code which requires GFI (ground fault interrupters) outlets in bathrooms, kitchens, and damp areas. This must have been an older home built before the current code. A GFI would probably prevented this terrible accident.
It's simple to replace an outlet with a GFI. An electrician wouldn't charge much to update a home, less than an hour's labor.
Currently there are so many warning labels on extension cords that the first thing I do is cut them off.
I think we all knew there was more to this story. An extension cord was involved. Dumb kid didn’t think electricity and bath tub electrocutions applied to her.
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